Radical Equality : Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the Risk of Democracy

416 Pages·2015·1.744 MB·English

by  Kumar, Aishwary

radical equality

Cultural Memory
in
the
Present
Hent de Vries, Editor

RADICAL EQUALITY
Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the Risk of Democracy

Aishwary Kumar
stanford university press
stanford, california
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any informa-
tion storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford
University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kumar, Aishwary, author.
Radical equality : Ambedkar, Gandhi, and the risk of democracy / Aishwary Kumar.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8047-9195-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Ambedkar, B. R. (Bhimrao Ramji), 1891-1956—Political and social views.
2. Gandhi, Mahatma, 1869-1948—Political and social views. 3. Anti-imperialist
movements—India—History—20th century. 4. Equality—India—History—20th
century. 5. Democracy—India—History—20th century. 6. Nonviolence—India—
History—20th century. 7. Nationalism—India—History—20th century. 8. India—
Politics and government—1919-1947. I. Title.
ds481.a6k86 2015
954.03'5—dc23
2014033656
isbn 978-0-8047-9426-8 (electronic)
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 11/13.5 Adobe Garamond
For my parents
Chitralekha and Amulya Kumar Ghosh

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1 Of Faith in Equality: Toward a Global Measure 1
part i. beginnings: elements of a critique of force
2 Spirits of Satyagraha: A History of Force 59
3 Laws of Force:
Ambedkar and the Mystical Foundation of Authority 109
part ii. interwar: sovereignties in question
4 Apotheosis of the Unequal: Gandhi’s Harijan 165
5 The Freedom of Others:
Annihilation of Caste and Republican Virtue 219
part iii. reconstitutions: of belief and justice
6 Gandhi, the Reader 277
7 Responding Justly: Ambedkar, Sunnyata, and Finitude 289
Epilogue: Citizenship and Insurrection 337
List of Abbreviations 345
Notes 347
Index 381